California Regulators Are Fining Uber, Lyft, And SideCar

The California Public Utilities Commission has cited and fined
Uber,
Lyft, and SideCar, three San Francisco-based startups offering
on-demand transportation through mobile apps, TechCrunch
reports.

Lyft and SideCar, which let any car owner sign up as drivers to
offer rides, received fines of $20,000, the companies told
TechCrunch. Uber, which contracts with professional limo drivers,
maintains that it's not subject to regulation by the PUC, which
already regulates its drivers.

The commission is classifying the companies as "charter-party
carriers."

The companies argue that such rules don't apply to them, because
they're offering an Internet-based service to connect riders and
drivers.

The city of San Francisco has generally proven friendlier to its
local startups. It's formed a "collaborative consumption" task
force to come up with a framework for handling ride-sharing
services and other new businesses like Airbnb
which run up against older regulations.